Follow Your Purpose: Career Direction for Students and Prospective Students

The main premise of this book is to help you find your purpose before graduating and to encourage you to be intentional with your career journey. In addition, it's to encourage and reignite in mature adults the dreams that are instilled in you. Many of us have a dream, hobby, or something we love that can tell us a lot about ourselves. For example, I have never considered myself a writer, but I'm in love with words. I love the meaning, I love the sound, I like how they can connect a story or add emphasis. Not surprising then that writing poetry and stories was always something that provided me with a lot of comfort and reflection. It was my source of self-awareness, self-actualization, and connection. The intent of this book is for you to pay more attention to YOU. It's for you to view life and what you need from it more holistically. Time, knowledge, and purpose are precious and should not be wasted or taken for granted. They are the foundations of what shape a meaningful career. This book is to encourage you to think differently about how you approach career decision making.
There is a distinct difference between building a career and having a job. When you land in an industry that you feel a strong connection with, you can see the vast opportunities ahead of you. You can see yourself as a senior officer or becoming an entrepreneur in that field. You can see yourself making a difference and possibly continuing your education to further your career trajectory. As a result of never giving up on my dream of being a professor, and having friends and colleagues who believed in me, I began the career I always longed for in education. That opportunity led to my appointment as an Assistant Dean, completing a doctorate degree, and writing a book to give back to others for everything that has been given to me.
Dr. Tita Gray